I just finished a lovely book that I wanted to share with you. "The
Madonnas of Leningrad" by Debra Dean contrasts the loss of memory of a
older Russian woman experiencing Alzheimer's with her vivid past memories
as a docent and survivor in the Hermitage Museum during the WWII Siege of
Leningrad. The novel beautifully and poetically describes individual works
of art in the Hermitage, the deprivations during the war, and the affect
of her declining memory on the woman's husband,daughter and herself. The
book captures beauty and love in a very singular way, never descending
into sentimentality.

Submitted by Elaine Zorbas